Plastic portable heat insulation cup

ABSTRACT

An plastic portable heat insulation cup, comprising: a) an external cup made of plastic material by means of an injection molding process, a first lip rim being formed by turning the rim portion of the external cup inside out, an annular groove with the external wall protruding outward being integrally formed at a place 3-13 mm lower than the first lip rim, the distance from the annular groove to the protrusion portion of the cup bottom being marked with h1; and b) an internal cup made of plastic material by means of an injection molding process, the outer diameter of the internal cup depending on the inclination and the inner diameter of the flank of the external cup, a plurality of corrugations being formed in the flank of the internal cup such that a heat insulation space is created between the corrugations and the flank of the external cup, a second lip rim being formed by turning the rim portion of internal cup inside out, the distance from the second lip rim to the external side of the cup bottom being marked with h2 which is identical to h1. Accordingly, the second lip rim fits into the annular groove when the internal cup is placed within the external cup so that a heat insulation cup is created by attaching the external cup and the internal cup to each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a plastic portable heat insulation cup, and more particularly to an external and an internal cup that are made of plastic material. The external and internal cups fit into each other to create a heat insulation cup without any processing procedure. Moreover, the external and internal cups can be separately used prior to the attachment of the external and internal cups.

2. Description of the Related Art

Drinking coffee or tea becomes an indispensable part of life to coffee or tea drinkers. At an early stage, people usually drink coffee or tea in restaurants or at home, but the style of our living has changed, and chained coffee shops such as “Starbucks” arise. People change their dining and drinking habits, and take-out coffee is a good example of these changes.

However, most of the portable beverages are made by hot water. Therefore, the hands become scalded when the beverage cup is held.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,266,828, issued to W. Sykes, discloses a paper cup having a corrugated liner secured to the cup proximate to the cup upper edge and lower edge. The corrugations run circumferentially, to provide an insulative air space between the cup side wall and liner.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,860, granted to W. Jonick, shows a double-walled insulative cup that comprises inner and outer cup-shaped elements telescoped one within the other. The cup-shaped elements have circumferentially spaced helical ribs angled in different directions so that ribs on the inner element angularly intersect ribs on the outer element, to provide mutual support points and insulative spaces therebetween.

Titus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,323 shows a paper cup having an annular liner anchored to the cup side wall proximate to the upper and lower edges of the cup. The liner has a bowed cross-section designed to provide an annular air space in the mid plane of the cup where a person would normally grasp the cup outer side surface.

Another prior art like U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,480, issued to choi discloses a disposable insulated drinking cup having an inner liner, an outer annular shell, and an air-filled spacer between the liner and shell. The spacer includes a corrugated wall adhered to a backing sheet. Both the corrugated wall and backing sheet are of thin-wall construction to maximize the air volume and insulation properties of the spacer.

Based upon the above-mentioned conventional configurations, most of the insulated drinking cups are made of paper and includes an internal and external structure. However, the double-layered insulated drinking cups are made of paper by a complicated manufacturing process. Besides, the joint of the circumference of the paper drinking cup is fixed by glue. Beverages like coffee or tea contained within the paper drinking cup have a high temperature. The glue applied to the joint will be gradually dissolved in few minutes. Therefore, the coffee will easily leak therefrom. In addition, a water-proof layer has to be applied to the inner wall of the paper drinking cup for protecting the whole paper drinking cup from being soaked and softened, thereby leading to deformation of the paper drinking cup. However, this water-proof layer can withstand the hot beverage only for a short period. The paper drinking cup will still suffers from the soaking action after a longer use. Thus, the paper drinking cup has inevitable drawbacks in use.

In addition, the external and internal cups of the above-mentioned conventional structures are assembled to a cup body prior to leaving the factory. In other words, the single external and internal cups 10, 20 can't be separately used for containing beverage with low temperature. This leads to unnecessary waste.

Based upon the above-mentioned description, the conventional double-layered heat insulation paper drinking cups can protect the hands from being scalded. However, they still suffer from a few problems and therefore, require further improvements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a plastic portable heat insulation cup with an external and an internal cup both of which are made of plastic material by an injection molding process. The external and internal cups can be engaged into each other. This permits not only a convenient processing but also provides a practical assembly without the requirement to complete at the factory. In other words, the external and internal cups can be assembled to be a heat insulation cup just at the stores, thereby permitting a convenient use. Moreover, the external and internal cups can be separately used prior to the assembly. Accordingly, the effect of “one object having three purposes” is ensured.

It is another object of the invention to provide a plastic portable heat insulation cup with an external and an internal cup both of which are made of plastic material by an injection molding process. Thus, it doesn't suffer from the above-mentioned problem of beverage leakage at the joint.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a plastic portable heat insulation cup with an external and an internal cup between which a heat insulation space is created. Moreover, the assembled heat insulation cup provides an excellent strength.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, a plastic portable heat insulation cup includes:

a) an external cup made of plastic material by means of an injection molding process, a first lip rim being formed by turning the rim portion of the external cup inside out, an annular groove with the external wall protruding outward being integrally formed at a place 3-13 mm lower than the first lip rim, the distance from the annular groove to the protrusion portion of the cup bottom being marked with h1; and

b) an internal cup made of plastic material by means of an injection molding process, the outer diameter of the internal cup depending on the inclination and the inner diameter of the flank of the external cup, a plurality of corrugations being formed in the flank of the internal cup such that a heat insulation space is created between the corrugations and the flank of the external cup, a second lip rim being formed by turning the rim portion of internal cup inside out, the distance from the second lip rim to the external side of the cup bottom being marked with h2 which is identical to h1, whereby the second lip rim fits into the annular groove when the internal cup is placed within the external cup so that a heat insulation cup is created by attaching the external cup and the internal cup to each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accomplishment of this and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following descriptions and its accompanying figures of which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cutaway view of the first embodiment of the invention after assembly;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the section marked with “3” in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of another embodiment of corrugations of the internal cup in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cutaway view of the second embodiment of the invention after assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, a plastic portable heat insulation cup in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention includes an external cup 10 and an internal cup 20. The external cup 10 and the internal cup 20 are made of plastic material like PE, PP, etc. by means of an injection molding process. A first lip rim 11 is formed by turning the rim portion of the external cup 10 inside out. An annular groove 12 with the external wall protruding outward is integrally formed at a place 3-13 mm lower than the first lip rim 11. The annular groove 12 is used to lock the internal cup 20 in place. As a result, it should be taken into account that the annular groove 12 should not be formed at a place where it is too near or too far away from the first lip rim 11. In case of the former one (the distance smaller than 3 mm), the first lip rim 11 will be easily deformed. In case of the latter one (the distance greater than 13 mm), the internal cup 20 with the effect of heat insulation has a reduced height, thereby losing the effect heat insulation. Moreover, a distance from the beverage surface to the cup rim will be normally kept in the range of 3-13 mm.

According to the embodiment in FIG. 1, a protrusion portion 141 projects inwardly from the cup bottom 14 of the external cup 10. However, it should not be restricted thereto. The distance from the annular groove 12 to the protrusion portion 141 of the cup bottom 14 is marked with h1. The height h1 serves as a basic data for determining the height of the internal cup 20.

The outer diameter of the internal cup 20 depends on the inclination and the inner diameter of the flank 13 of the external cup 10. A plurality of corrugations 22 are formed in the flank of the internal cup 20 such that a heat insulation space 30 is created between the corrugations 22 and the flank 13 of the external cup 10 (see FIG. 2). Moreover, a second lip rim 21 is formed by turning the rim portion of internal cup 20 inside out. Meanwhile, the distance from the second lip rim 21 to the external side of the cup bottom 23 is marked with h2 which is identical to h1. In this way, the second lip rim 21 fits just into the annular groove 12 when the internal cup 20 is placed within the external cup 10. Accordingly, a heat insulation cup 40 is created by attaching the external cup 10 and the internal cup 20 to each other.

The assembly of the above-mentioned external and internal cups 10, 20 can be done without machines. As shown in FIG. 3, the second lip rim 21 of the internal cup 20 fits into the annular groove 12 of the external cup 10 in place. Therefore, the external and internal cups 10, 20 are separately placed when leaving factory. If necessary, the internal cup 20 can be placed into the external cup 10 when transported to the stores. The second lip rim 21 can easily fit into the annular groove 12 by the elastic property of the plastic material, thereby achieving a rapid assembly for receiving the hot beverage. Certainly, the external and internal cups 10, 20 may be separately used for containing the hot or cold beverage before they are joined together to create the heat insulation cup 40. Accordingly, the effect of “one object having three purposes” is ensured.

As shown in FIG. 4, the heat insulation effect of the heat insulation cup 40 is achieved by the heat insulation space 30 created between the corrugations 22 and the flank 13 of the external cup 10. According to this embodiment, the corrugations 22 are formed in a zigzag shape such that only the tip end of the corrugations 22 is in contact with the flank 13 of the external cup 10, thereby minimizing the contact area and, thus, avoiding the heat conduction from the internal cup 20 to the flank 13 of the external cup 10. Accordingly, a certain heat insulation effect may be achieved.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the corrugations 22 in accordance with the invention. The corrugations 22 are formed at equal distance to one another. The heat insulation space 30 created by these corrugations 22 also allows an effective insulation of heat conduction. As shown in FIG. 2, the protrusion portion 141 projecting inwardly from the cup bottom 14 of the external cup 10 ensures an excellent strength at the cup bottom 14. Meanwhile, another heat insulation space 30 is also created between the cup bottom 14 of the external cup 10 and the cup bottom 23 of the internal cup 20. Accordingly, the protrusion portion 141 permits a double application effect.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are the exploded perspective view and the cutaway view of a second embodiment of the invention, respectively. The components that are identical with those of the first embodiment are marked with the same reference sign. The whole structure of the second embodiment is substantially the same to that of the first embodiment. The difference lies in that the internal cup 20 is higher than the external cup 10. In other words, the second lip rim 21 formed at the cup opening of the internal cup 20 is located at the first lip rim 11 formed at the cup opening of the external cup 10. Meanwhile, the first annular groove 12 of the external cup 10 formed at the bottom of the first lip rim 11 projects inwardly. A second annular groove 24 is integrally formed and inwardly protruded at the bottom of the second lip rim 21 of the internal cup 20. Moreover, the distance h2 from the second annular groove 24 to the external bottom to the bottom surface of the cup bottom 23 is identical to h1. In this way, the second annular groove 24 fits just into the first annular groove 12 when the internal cup 20 is placed within the external cup 10. Accordingly, a heat insulation cup 40 is created by attaching the external cup 10 and the internal cup 20 to each other.

Based upon the configuration of the above-mentioned two embodiments of the invention, the external and internal cups 10, 20 are separately formed by the injection molding process. Meanwhile, the external and internal cups 10, 20 can be assembled by the prearranged configuration to be a heat insulation cup 40 without any tools. Therefore, the manufacturing method and effect of the plastic cup in accordance with the invention are different from that of the conventional double-layered paper cups. Besides, the external and internal cups 10, 20 are waterproof so that no beverage will leak. In addition, the heat insulation effect and the strength of plastic heat insulation cup are excellent. Accordingly, the practical effect can be achieved.

Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiments of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A plastic portable heat insulation cup, comprising: a) an external cup made of plastic material by means of an injection molding process, a first lip rim being formed by turning the rim portion of the external cup inside out, an annular groove with the external wall protruding outward being integrally formed at a place 3-13 mm lower than the first lip rim, the distance from the annular groove to the inner rim of the cup bottom being marked with h1; and b) an internal cup made of plastic material by means of an injection molding process, the outer diameter of the internal cup depending on the inclination and the inner diameter of the flank of the external cup, a plurality of corrugations being formed in the flank of the internal cup such that a heat insulation space is created between the corrugations and the flank of the external cup, a second lip rim being formed by turning the rim portion of internal cup inside out, the distance from the second lip rim to the external side of the cup bottom being marked with h2 which is identical to h1, whereby the second lip rim fits into the annular groove when the internal cup is placed within the external cup so that a heat insulation cup is created by attaching the external cup and the internal cup to each other.
 2. The plastic portable heat insulation cup as recited in claim 1, wherein the corrugations of the internal cup are formed in a zigzag shape.
 3. The plastic portable heat insulation cup as recited in claim 1, wherein the corrugations of the internal cup are formed at equal distance to one another.
 4. A plastic portable heat insulation cup, comprising: a) an external cup made of plastic material by means of an injection molding process, a first lip rim being formed by turning the rim portion of the external cup inside out, a first annular groove with the external wall protruding inward being integrally formed at a place 3-13 mm lower than the first lip rim, the distance from the first annular groove to the inner rim of the cup bottom being marked with h1; and b) an internal cup made of plastic material by means of an injection molding process, the outer diameter of the internal cup depending on the inclination and the inner diameter of the flank of the external cup, a plurality of corrugations being formed in the flank of the internal cup such that a heat insulation space is created between the corrugations and the flank of the external cup, a second lip rim being formed by turning the rim portion of internal cup inside out, the second lip rim being located at the first lip rim of the external cup, a second annular groove being integrally formed and inwardly protruded at the bottom of the second lip rim, the distance h2 from the second annular groove to the external bottom to the bottom surface of the cup bottom being identical to h1, whereby the second annular groove fits just into the first annular groove when the internal cup is placed within the external cup such that a heat insulation cup is created by attaching the external cup and the internal cup to each other. 